The players

Star man

Eden Hazard is not the easiest player to manage at times – as José Mourinho will testify (forgotten passport before a Champions League tie at Schalke; catastrophic defensive gaffe against Atlético Madrid) – and not Belgium’s most influential player in qualifying (De Bruyne surpassed him with four goals and four assists) but the Chelsea playmaker is unquestionably the country’s talisman. Hopefully he’ll turn up at the airport to catch the flight to Brazil with his passport.

One for the Premier League

They’re all over here already. Well, almost all of them: 11 to be exact. There’s a 21-year-old goalkeeper called Thibaut Courtois turning out for Atlético Madrid who isn’t too shabby. Chelsea could do worse than give him a run-out next season.

The bad boy

Marouane Fellaini. It’s those elbows. They’re dangerous, not in a Leonardo-on-Tab-Ramos-in-1994 sort of way, but nasty all the same. You certainly wouldn’t want to run into one of them, which is what Fellaini claimed Pablo Zabaleta did in March. “That’s the funniest thing I have ever heard in my life,” the Manchester City defender said.

The weakest link

The full-backs. Atlético Madrid’s 25-year-old Toby Alderweireld is a centre-half by trade but operates as an auxiliary right-back for Belgium. Ditto Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen on the left. It’s not ideal.

The coach

Marc Wilmots may not have been the public’s No1 choice to replace Georges Leekens but two years on and his popularity could not be higher and he has just signed a four-year extension. The 45 year old, who as a player scored five goals across three World Cup finals and dabbled in politics before returning to football, has provided a supremely talented group with direction and discipline. His word is iron. “Stop talking nonsense” was his blunt message to Kevin Mirallas after the Everton winger suggested the 19-year-old Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj shouldn’t go to Brazil.

Tactics

Forget beer, waffles and chocolate, these days Belgium is more famous for exporting footballing talent such as Benteke (injured and out of the finals), Witsel and Courtois. A slight exaggeration, perhaps but this is – no really – Les Diables Rouges’ golden generation. Set up in a fluid 4-3-3, with the accomplished Axel Witsel anchoring midfield, Belgium will look to Kevin De Bruyne (former Chelsea) and Eden Hazard (Chelsea for now) to provide the craft and guile and Romelu Lukaku (on Chelsea’s books) the goals. So more a royal blue generation than a golden one.

Grudge match

Neighbours Holland aren’t the worst of enemies – but they’re not best friends either. An epic Derby der Lage Landen/les Pays-Bas took place in 1985, when Belgium beat the Dutch in a World Cup play-off that featured some shameful play-acting from Franky Vercauteren, Ruud Gullit in tights and the late header that made Georges Grun a national hero.

Holed up

The Paradise Golf and Lake Resort, 50km from São Paulo, was persuaded by Wilmots to stock a lake with trout so that his squad can enjoy a spot of fishing to relax. “When I was a player, Belgium always seemed to be based in monasteries, and it was impossible to keep your sanity for a month,” said Wilmots, whose six-minute guided tour of the hotel and its grounds is available on YouTube.